People thought that the earth was the center of the universe and everything revolved around it, but people like Galileo disproved this and changed the way people understood the universe and was the one to say the earth revolves around the sun.
Spain was a very Catholic state and Phillip II thought of himself a champion of Catholicism, so the Catholic Church played a major role in Spain's American empire. Church officials were royal advisors and the church also sent missionaries to convert natives to Catholicism and help regulate the activities of the settlers.
He was in democratic-republican. I hope that helped :D